fleet. (Liv. xxvii. 6.) Under the reign of Ho norius, Olbia is still mentioned by Claudian as one of the principal sea-ports of Sardinia; and the Itineraries give more than one line of road proceeding from thence towards different parts of the island. (Claudian, B. Gild. 519; Itin. Ant. pp. 79, 80, 82.) The name is there written Ulbia: in the middle ages it came to be known as Civita, and obtained its modern appellation of Terranova from the Spaniards. Ptolemy distinguishes the port of Olbia ('OXBiavòs Xiμhv, iii. 3. § 4) from the city itself: he probably applies this name to the whole of the spacious bay or inlet now known as the Gulf of Terranova, and the position given is that of the [E. H. B.] entrance. which records the exploits of Protogenes, who, in | the extreme distress of his native city, aided it both with his purse and person. This inscription, apparently belonging to the period B. C. 218-201, mentions the Galatians and Sciri (perhaps the same as those who are afterwards found united with the Heruli and Rugii) as the worst enemies of Olbia, a clear proof that in the third century B. C. Celtic tribes had penetrated as far to the E. as the Borysthenes. Dion Chrysostom (Orat. xxxvi. p. 76), who came to Olbia when he escaped from Domitian's edict, relates how it had been destroyed by the Getae | about 150 years before the date of his arrival, or about B. C. 50, but had been restored by the old inhabitants. From the inscriptions it appears that Augustus and Tiberius conferred favours on a certain Ababus of Olbia (No. 2060), who, in gratitude, ΟΊΒΙΑ (Ολβία: Εth. Ολβιοπολίτης, and Όλε erected a portico in their honour (No. 2087), while 6avós). Stephanus (8. v. 'Oλ6ía) speaks of one Antoninus Pius assisted them against the Tauro-Scy-city of this name as a Ligurian city, by which he thians. (Jul. Capit. Anton. 9.) The citizens erected means the Olbia on the Ligurian coast of Gallia; statues to Caracalla and Geta (No. 2091). The city for the name Olbia appears to be Greek. Mela (ii. was in all probability destroyed in the invasion of the 5), who proceeds from east to west in enumerating Goths A. D. 250, as the name does not occur hence- the cities on the Mediterranean coast of Gallia, places forth in history. For coins of Olbia, besides the Olbia between Forum Julii (Fréjus) and Massilia works already quoted, see Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 3. (Marseille). The order of place is this: Forum Julii, (Pallas, Reise, vol. ii. p. 507; Clarke, Trav. vol. ii. Athenopolis, Olbia, Taurois, Citharistes, Massilia. p. 351; Murawien Apostol's Reise, p. 27; Böckh, Strabo (iv. p. 184), who proceeds from west to east in Inscr. vol. ii. pp. 86-89; Niebuhr, Kleine his enumeration of the cities of this coast, mentions Schrift. p. 352; Schafarik, Slav. Alt, vol. i. p. 397; Massilia, Tauroentium, Olbia, and Antipolis, and Creuzer, Heidelberg. Jährbuch, 1822, p. 1235; Nicaea. He adds that the port of Augustus, which Bähr, Excursus ad Herod. iv. 18.) they call Forum Julii, is between Olbia and Antipolis (Antibes). The Massaliots built Olbia, with the other places on this coast, as a defence against the Salyes and the Ligures of the Alps. (Strab. p. 180.) Ptolemy (ii. 10. § 8) places Olbia between the promontory Citharistes (Cap Cicier) and the mouth of the river Argenteus (Argents), west of Fréjus. There is nothing that fixes the site of Olbia with precision; and we must accept D'Anville's conjecture that Olbia was at a place now called Eoube, between Cap Combe and Bréganson. Forbiger accepts the conjecture that Olbia was at St. Tropez, which he supports by saying that Strabo places Olbia 600 stadia from Massilia; but Strabo places Forum Julii 600 stadia from Massilia. [G.L.] COIN OF OLBIA. [E. B. J.] ABIO O'LBIA ('Oλsía: Eth. 'Oxbiavós, Olbiensis: Terranova), one of the most considerable cities of Sardinia, situated on the E. coast of the island not far from its NE. extremity, in the innermost recess or bight of a deep bay now called the Golfo di Terranova. According to Pausanias it was one of the most ancient cities in the island, having been founded by the colony of Thespiadae under Iolaus, the companion of Hercules, with whom were associated a body of Athenians, who founded a separate city, which they named Ogryle. (Paus. x. 17. § 5; Diod. iv. 29; Solin. 1. § 61.) The name of Olbia certainly seems to indicate that the city was of Greek origin; but, with the exception of this mythical legend, we have no accounts of its foundation. After the Roman conquest of the island it became one of the most important towns in Sardinia; and from its proximity to Italy and its opportune port, became the ordinary point of communication with the island, and the place where the Roman governors and others who visited Sardinia usually landed. (Cic. ad Q. Fr. ii. 3. § 7, 6. § 7.) In the First Punic War it was the scene of a naval engagement be. tween the consul Cornelius and a Carthaginian fleet, which had taken refuge in its spacious port; but was attacked and defeated there by Cornelius, who followed up his advantage by taking the city, B. C. 259. (Zonar. viii. 11; Flor. ii. 2. § 16; Val. Max. v. 1. § 2.) In the Second Punic War (B. C. 210) its territory was ravaged by a Carthaginian O'LBIA ('Oλsía). 1. A town in Bithynia, on the bay called, after it, the Sinus Olbianus (commonly Sinus Astacenus), was in all probability only another name for Astacus [ASTACUS]. Pliny (v. 43) is probably mistaken in saying that Olbia was the ancient name for Nicaea in Bithynia; he seems to confound Nicaea with Astacus. 2. The westernmost town on the coast of Pamphylia. (Strab. xiv. pp. 666, foll.; Plin. v. 26.) Ptolemy (v. 5. §2), consistently with this description, places it between Phaselis and Attaleia. Stephanus B. (s. v.) blames Philo for ascribing this town to Pamphylia, since, as he asserts, it was situated in the territory of the Solymi, and its real name was Olba; but the critic is here himself at fault, confounding Olbia with the Pisidian Olbasa. Strabo describes our Olbia as a strong fortress, and its inhabitants colonised the Lycian town of Cydrema. 3. A town of Cilicia, mentioned only by Stephanus Byz. (8. v.), who may possibly have been thinking of the Cilician Olbasa or Olbe. [L. S.] OLBIA. [OLIBA.] OLBIA'NUS SINUS ('Oλbiards KóλTOS), only another name for the Sinus Astacenus, the town of Olbia being also called Astacus. (Scylax. p. 35; comp. ASTACUS, and OLBIA, No. 1.) [L.S.] did not join the league; but the inhabitants subsequently abandoned the town, and retired to the neighbouring villages of Peirae (Пepaí), and Euryteiae (Eupureial), and to Dyme. In the time of Polybius, however, Oienus was no longer inhabited; and in the time of Strabo it was in ruins, and its territory belonged to Dyme. There are some remains of the ancient city at Kato or Palea-Akhaia. (Herod. i. 145; Pol. ii. 41; Strab. viii. pp. 384, 386, 388; Paus. vii. 18. § 1, vii. 22. § 1; Plin. iv. 6, Olenum ; Leake, Morea, vol. ii. p. 157, Peloponnesiaca, p. 208; Thirlwall, Hist. of Greece, vol. viii. p. 82.) O'LCADES COλkádes), a people of Hispania | Baetica, dwelling N. of Carthago Nova, on the upper course of the Anas, and in the E. part of the territory occupied at a later date by the Oretani. They are mentioned only in the wars of the Carthaginians with the Iberians, and after that period vanish entirely from history. Hannibal during his wars in Italy transplanted a colony of them into Africa. Their chief town was Althaea. (Polyb. iii. 14. 23, and 13. 5; Liv. xxi. 5; Steph. B. s. v.: Suidas, s. v.) [T. H. D.] OLCI'NIUM (OtлKívov, Ptol ii. 17. § 5; Olchinium, Plin. iii. 26: Eth. Olciniatae), a town of some importance in Illyricum, which surrendered to the Romans at the commencement of hostilities with Gentius, and which, in consequence, received the privilege of freedom and immunity from taxation. (Liv. xlv. 26.) Dulcigno or Ulkin, as it is still called, is identified with this town. (Hahn, Alba-reading Opto appears to be a mistake.) In the nesische Studien, p. 262.) OLEARUS. OLIARUS.] [E. B. J.] OLEASTRUM ('Oxéaσтpov, Ptol. ii. 4. § 14). 1. A town in Hispania Baetica, in the jurisdiction of Gades, with a grove of the same name near it. (Mela, iii. 1. § 4; Plin. iii. 1. s. 3.) 2. A town of the Cosetani in Hispania Tarraconensis, on the road from Dertosa to Tarraco (Itin. Ant. 399). Probably the same town mentioned by Strabo (iii. p. 159), but erroneously placed by him near Saguntum. It seems also to have given name to the lead mentioned by Pliny (xxxiv. 17. s. 49). Variously identified with Balaguer, Miramar, and S. Lucar de Barrameda (Marca, Hisp. ii. 11. p. 142.) [T. H. D.] OLEASTRUM PROM. ('Oλéaσтpov, Ptol. iv. 1. § 6), a promontory of Mauretania, between Russadir and Abyla, called in the Antonine Itinerary, BARBARI PROM., now Punta di Mazari, in the bight of Titawan, or Tetuán. [E. B. J.] OLE'NACUM, a fortress in the N. of Britannia Romana, and the station of the Ala Prima Hercules (Not. Prov.) It lay close to the Picts' wall, and Camden thinks (p. 1022) that it occupied the site of Linstoc Castle in the barony of Crosby, not far from Carlisle. Horsley, however (p. 112) takes it to be Old Carlisle, near Wigton, where there are some conspicuous Roman remains. [T. H. D.] OLENÚS (“Nävos), a town in Galatia, in the west of Ancyra, and belonging to the territory of the Tectosages, is mentioned only by Ptolemy (v. 4. § 8). [L. S.] LENUS (Ωλενος: Εth. Ωλένιος). 1. An ancient town in the S. of Aetolia, between the Achelous and the Evenus, was named after a son of Zeus or Hephaestus, and is mentioned in the Homeric catalogue. It was situated near New Pleuron, at the foot of Mount Aracynthus; but its exact site is uncertain. It is said to have been destroyed by the Aeolians; and there were only a few traces of it in the time of Strabo. (Strab.x. pp. 451, 460; Hom. I. ii. 638; Apollod. i. 8. § 4; Hyg. Poët. Astron. 2. § 13; Stat. Theb. iv. 104; Steph. B. s. v.) The Roman poets use Olenius as equivalent to Aetolian: thus Tydeus of Calydon in Aetolia is called Olenius Tydeus. (Stat. Theb. i. 402.) 2. A town of Achaia, and originally one of the 12 Achaean cities, was situated on the coast, and on the left bank of the river Peirus, 40 stadia from Dyme, and 80 stadia from Patrae. On the revival of the Achaean League in B. C. 280, it appears that Olenus was still in existence, as Strabo says that it O'LERUS (Nepos, Xenion, ap. Steph. B. s. v.: Eth. 'λépios, Böckh, Inser. vol. ii. No. 2555; Eustath. ad Il. ii. p. 664), a town of Crete, situated on a hill, with a temple to Athene. In the struggle between Cnossus and Lyctus, the people of Olerus sided with the latter. (Polyb. iv. 53, where the Descrizione dell' Isola di Candia, A. D. 1538 (ap. Mus. Class. Antiq. vol. ii. p. 271), the site is occupied by a place called Castel Messelerius. (Höck, Kreta, vol. i. pp. 17, 424.) [E. B. J.] OLGASSYS ("Oλyaσσvs), a lofty and inaccessible mountain on the frontiers of Paphlagonia and Galatia, extending from the Halys in a south-western direction towards the Sangarius, and containing the sources of the Parthenius. The surrounding country was filled with temples erected by the Paphlagonians. (Strab. xii. p. 562.) The mountain mentioned by Ptolemy (v. 4. § 4) under the name of Ligas, Gigas, or Oligas, is probably the same as the Olgassys of Strabo. It still bears its ancient name in the corrupt form of Ulgaz, and modern travellers state that some parts of the mountain are covered with snow nearly all the year. [L. S.] OLIARUS ('xíapos, Olearus, Plin., Virg. : Eth. 'Dλiápios: Antiparo), an island in the Aegaean sea, one of the Cyclades, said by Heracleides to have been colonised by the Sidonians and to be 58 stadia from Paros. (Heracleid. ap. Steph. B. s. v.; Strab. x. p. 485; Plin. iv. 12. s. 22; Virg. Aen. iii. 126.) It possesses a celebrated stalactitic cavern, which has been described by several modern travellers. (Tournefort, Voyage, &c. vol. i. p. 146, seq., Eng. transl.; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. p. 87, seq.; Fiedler, Reise durch Griechenland, vol. ii. p. 191, seq.) OLIBA ('Oxi6a, Ptol. ii. 6. § 55), a town of the Berores in the N. of Hispania Tarraconensis. Ukert (vol. ii. pt. 1. p. 458) takes it to be the same town as Olbia in Iberia, mentioned by Steph. B. [T.H.D.] OLI'CANA ('Oxíкava, Ptol. ii. 3. § 16), a town of the Brigantes in the N. of Britannia Romana; according to Camden (p. 867), Ilkley, on the river Wherf in Yorkshire. [T. H. D.] OLIGYRTUS ('Oxiyupтos, Polyb. iv. 11, 70; 'Ovóyupтos, Plut. Cleom. 26), a mountain and fortress situated in a pass between Stymphalus and Caphyae. Leake places it on a small advanced height of Mt. Skipézi, projecting into the Stymphalian plain, on the crest of which are the foundations of a Hellenic wall, formed of large quadrangular stones. (Leake, Morea, vol. iii. p. 114; Boblaye, Recherches, &c. p. 154; Curtius, Peloponnesos, vol. i. p. 217.) OLINA. [GALLAECIA, p. 934, b.] OLINAS (Ολίνα ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί). Ptolemy (ii. 8. c. 2) places the mouth of the Olinas river on the coast of Celtogalatia Lugdunensis in the country of the Veneli or Unelli; and the next place which he mentions north of the mouth of the Olinas is Noeomagus, or Noviomagus, of the Lexuvii or Lexovii. This is the Orne, which flows into the Atlantic below Caen in the department of Calvados. D'Anville says that in the middle age writings the name of the river is Olna, which is easily changed into Orne. Gosselin supposes the Olinas to be the Savie, and there are other conjectures; but the identity of name is the only evidence that we can trust in this case. [G. L.] OLINTIGI, a maritime town of Hispania Baetica, lying E. of Onoba. (Mela, iii. 1. § 4.) Its real name seems to have been Olontigi, as many coins are found in the neighbourhood bearing the inscription OLONT. (Florez, Med. ii. pp. 495, 509, iii. p. 103; Mionnet, Sup. i. p. 111, ap. Ukert, vol. ii. pt. 1. p. 340.) Variously identified with Moguer and Palos. [T. H. D.] OLISIPO (OXOσeinwv, Ptol. ii. 5. § 4), a city of Lusitania, on the right bank of the Tagus, and not far from its mouth. The name is variously written. Thus Pliny (iv. 35) has Olisippo; so also the Itin. Ant. pp. 416, 418, seq. In Mela (iii. 1. § 6), Solinus (c. 23), &c., we find Ulyssippo, on account probably of the legend mentioned in Strabo, which ascribed its foundation to Ulysses, but which is more correctly referred to Odysseia in Hispania Baetica. [ODYSSEIA.] Under the Romans it was a municipium, with the additional name of Felicitas Julia. (Plin. l. c.) The neighbourhood of Olisipo was celebrated for a breed of horses of remarkable fleetness, which gave rise to the fable that the mares were impregnated by the west wind. (Plin. viii. 67; Varr. R. R. ii. 1, 19; Col. vi. 27.) It is the modern Lisboa or Lisbon. [T. H. D.] OLIZON (Ολιζών: Eth. Ολιζώνιος), an ancient town of Magnesia in Thessaly, mentioned by Homer, who gives it the epithet of "rugged." (Hom. Il. ii. 717.) It possessed a harbour (Scylax, p. 25); and as it was opposite Artemisium in Euboea (Plut. Them. 8), it is placed by Leake on the isthmus connecting the peninsula of Trikhiri with the rest of Magnesia. (Strab. ix. p. 436; Plin. iv. 9. s. 16; Steph. B. s. v.; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 384.) O'LLIUS (Oglio), a river of Cisalpine Gaul, and one of the more considerable of the northern tributaries of the Padus. It rises in the Alps, at the foot of the Monte Tonale, flows through the Val Camonica (the district of the ancient Camuni), and forms the extensive lake called by Pliny the Lacus Sebinus, now the Lago d'Iseo. From thence it has a course of about 80 miles to the Padus, receiving on its way the tributary streams of the Mela or Mella, and the Clusius or Chiese. Though one of the most important rivers of this part of Italy, its name is mentioned only by Pliny and the Geographer of Ravenna. (Plin. iii. 16. s. 20. 19. s. 23; Geogr. Rav. iv. 36.) [E. H. B.] OLMEIUS. [BOEOTIA, Vol. I. p. 413. a.] O'LMIAE. [CORINTHUS, Vol. I. p. 683, a.] OLMONES (Ολμώνες: Eth. Ολμωνεύς), village in Boeotia, situated 12 stadia to the left of Copae, and 7 stadia from Hyettus. It derived its name from Olmus, the son of Sisyphus, but contained nothing worthy of notice in the time of l'ausanias. Forchhammer places Olmones in the small island in the lake Copais, SW. of Copae, now called Trelo-Yani. [See the Map, Vol. I. p. 411, where the island lies SW. of No. 10.] (Paus. ix. 24. § 3; Steph. B. s. v.; Forchhammer, Hellenika, p. 178.) OLOCRUS (rd 'Oλóкpov õpos, Plut. Aem. Paul. 20), a mountain near Pydna, in Macedonia, represented by the last falls of the heights between Ayán and Elefthero-khóri. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. p. 433.) [E. B. J.] OLOOSSON (Ολοοσσών: Eth. Ολοοσσόνιος), ο town of Perrhaebia in Thessaly, mentioned by Homer, who gives to it the epithet of "white," from its white argillaceous soil. In Procopius the name occurs in the corrupt form of LosSONUS. It is now called Elassóna, and is a place of some importance. It is situated on the edge of a plain near Tempe, and at the foot of a hill, on which there is a large ancient monastery, defended on either side by a deep ravine. The ancient town, or at least the citadel, stood upon this hill, and there are a few fragments of ancient walls, and some foundations behind and around the monastery. (Hom. I. ii. 739; Strab. ix. p. 440; Lycophr. 905; Steph. B. s. v.; Procop. de Aedif. iv. 14; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. p. 345.) OLOPHYXUS ('Oλópugos, Herod. vii. 22; Thuc. iv. 109; Scyl. p. 27; Strab. vii. p. 331; Steph. B.), a town on the peninsula of Acte, the site of which is probably represented by the Arsand of Khilandári, the tenth and last monastery of the E. shore of the Monte Santo. It is reported that here there were Hellenic remains found, in particular those of a mole, part of which is now left. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. pp. 141, 151.) [E. B. J.] OLPAE (Όλπαι : Εth. Ολπαῖος). 1. A fortress on the Ambracian gulf, in the territory of Argos Amphilochicum. [See Vol. I. pp. 207, 208.] 2. A fortress of the Locri Ozolae, the position of which is uncertain. (Thuc. iii. 101.) OLTIS. De Valois suggested, and D'Anville adopts his opinion, that we ought to read Oltis instead of Clitis in the verse of Sidonius Apollinaris (Propempt.):— 'Clitis, Elaris, Atax, Vacalis." D'Anville observes that the same river is named Olitis in a poem of Theodulf of Orleans. Accordingly the river ought to be named Olt or L' Olt; but usage has attached the article to the name, and we now speak of Le Lot, and so use the article twice. The Lot rises near Mont Lozère on the Cévennes, and it has a general west course past Mende and Cahors. It joins the Garonne a few miles below Agen, which is on the Garonne. [G. L.] OLURIS. DORIUM.] OLUS ("Oxovs, Scyl. p. 19; Xenion, ap. Steph. B. s. v.; Ptol. iii. 17. § 5; al. "Oλovλis; Stadiasm. 350: Eth. 'OxovTi0i, 'OλoÚTI), a town of Crete, the citizens of which had entered into a treaty with those of Lato. (Böckh, Inser. vol. ii. No. 2554.) There was a temple to Britomartis in this city, a wooden statue of whom was erected by Daedalus, the mythical ancestor of the Daedalidae, and father of Cretan art. (Pausan. ix. 40. § 3.) Her effigy is represented on the coins of Olus. (Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 316: Mionnet, Descr. vol. ii. p. 289; Combe, Mus. Hunter.) There is considerable difficulty in making out the position of this town; but the site may probably be represented by Aliedha near Spína Longa, where there are ruins. Mr. Pashley's map erroneously identifies these with Naxos. (Comp. Höck, Kreta, vol. i. p. 417.) [E. B. J.] OLYMPE'NE ('Oλvμπŋvý), a district of Mysia. on the northern slope of Mount Olympus, from which it derived its name. (Strab. xii. pp. 571, 576.) | The plain of Olympia is open towards the sea on the west, but is surrounded on every other side by hills of no great height, yet in many places abrupt and precipitous. Their surface presents a series of sandy cliffs of light yellow colour, covered with the pine, ilex, and other evergreens. On entering the valley from the west, the most conspicuous object is a bold and nearly insulated eminence rising on the north from the level plain in the form of an irregular cone. (Mure, vol. ii. p. 281.) This is Mount CRONIUS, or the hill of Cronus, which is frequently noticed by Pindar and other ancient writers. (Tap' evdetéλov Kpóvior, Pind. Ol. i. 111; máyos Kpóvov, ΟΙ. xi. 49 ; ὑψηλοίο πέτρα ἀλίβατος Κρονίου, Οι. vi. 64; Κρόνου παρ' αἰπὸν ὄχθον, Lycophr. 42, ὁ Kpóvetos, Xen. Hell. vii. 4. § 14; тò õρos тò KpóViov, Paus. v. 21. § 2, vi. 19. § 1, vi. 20. § 1; Ptol. iii. 16. § 14.) The range of hills to which it belongs is called by most modern writers the Olympian, on the authority of a passage of Xenophon. (Hell. vii. 4. § 14). Leake, however, supposes that the Olympian hill alluded to in this passage was no other than Cronius itself; but it would appear, that the common opinion is correct, since Strabo (viii. p. 356) describes Pisa as lying between the two mountains Olympus and Ossa. The hills, which bound the plain on the south, are higher than the Cronian ridge, and, like the latter, are covered with evergreens, with the exception of one bare summit, distant about half a mile from the Alpheius. This was the ancient TYPAEUS (TUπaîov), from which women, who frequented the Olympic games, or crossed the river on forbidden days, were condemned to be hurled headlong. (Paus. v. 6. § 7.) Another range of hills closes the vale of Olympia to the east, at the foot of which runs the rivulet of Miráka. On the west the vale was bounded by the CLADEUS (KAάdeos), which flowed from north to south along the side of the sacred grove, and fell into the Alpheius. (Paus. v. 7. § 1; Kλádaos, Xen. Hell. vii. 4. § 29.) This river rises at Lala in Mount Pholoë. The Alpheius, which flows along the southern edge of the plain, constantly changes its course, and has buried beneath the new alluvial plain, or carried into the river, all the remains of buildings and monuments which stood in the southern part of the Sacred Grove. In winter the Alpheius is full, rapid, and turbid; in summer it is scanty, and divided into several torrents flowing between islands or sandbanks over a wide gravelly bed. The vale of Olympia is now called Andilalo (i. e. opposite to Lala), and is uninhabited. The soil is naturally rich, but swampy in part, owing to the inundations of the river. Of the numerous buildings and countless statues, which once covered this sacred spot, the only remains are those of the temple of Zeus Olympius. Pausanias has devoted nearly two books, and one fifth of his whole work, to the description of Olympia; but he does not enumerate the buildings in their exact topographical order: owing to this circumstance, to the absence of ancient remains, and to the changes in the surface of the soil by the fluctuations in the course of the Alpheius, the topography of the plain must be to a great extent conjectural. The latest and most able attempt to elucidate this subject, is that of Colonel Leake in his Peloponnesiaca, whose description is here chiefly followed. Olympia lay partly within and partly outside of the Sacred Grove. This Sacred Grove bore from the most ancient times the name of ALTIS ( "AXTIS), which is the Peloponnesian Aeolic form of λoos. (Paus. v. 10. § 1.) It was adorned with trees, and in its centre there was a grove of planes. (Paus. v. 27. § 11.) Pindar likewise describes it as well wooded (Πίσας εὔδενδρον ἐπ ̓ ̓Αλφέῳ ἄλσος, Ol. viii. 12). The space of the Altis was measured out by Hercules, and was surrounded by this hero with a wall. (Pind. Ol. xi. 44.) On the west it ran along the Cladeus; on the south its direction may be traced by a terrace raised above the Alpheius; on the east it was bounded by the stadium. There were several gates in the wall, but the principal one, through which all the processions passed, was situated in the middle of the western side, and was called the Pompie Entrance (ἡ Πομπική εἴσοδος, Paus. v. 15. § 2). From this gate, a road, called the Pompic Way, ran across the Altis, and entered the stadium by a gateway on the eastern side. 1. The Olympicium, Olympium, or temple of Zeus Olympius. An oracle of the Olympian god existed on this spot from the most ancient times (Strab. viii. p. 353), and here a temple was doubtless built, even before the Olympic games became a Pan-Hellenic festival. But after the conquest of Pisa and the surrounding cities by the Eleians in B. C. 572, the latter determined to devote the spoils of the conquered cities to the erection of a new and splendid temple of the Olympian god. (Paus. v. 10. §§ 2, 3.) The architect was Libon of Elis. The temple was not, however, finished till nearly a century afterwards, at the period when the Attic school of art was supreme in Greece, and the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis had thrown into the shade all previous works of art. Shortly after the dedication of the Parthenon, the Eleians invited Pheidias and his school of artists to remove to Elis, and adorn the Olympian temple in a manner worthy of the king of the gods. Pheidias probably remained at Olympia for four or five years from about B. C. 437 to 434 or 433. The colossal statue of Zeus in the cella, and the figures in the pediments of the temple were executed by Pheidias and his associates. The pictorial embellishments were the work of his relative Panaenus. (Strab. viii. p. 354). [Comp. Dict. of Biogr. Vol. III. p. 248.] Pausanias has given a minute description of the temple (v. 10); and its site, plan, and dimensions have been well ascertained by the excavations of the French Commission of the Morea. The foundations are now exposed to view; and several fine fragments of the sculptures, representing the labours of Hercules, are now in the museum of the Louvre. The temple stood in the south-western portion of the Altis, to the right hand of the Pompic entrance. It was built of the native limestone, which Pausanias called poros, and which was covered in the more finished parts by a surface of stucco, which gave it the appearance of marble. It was of the Doric order, and a peripteral hexastyle building. Accordingly it had six columns in the front and thirteen on the sides. The columns were fluted, and 7ft. 4in. in diameter, a size greater than that of any other existing columns of a Grecian temple. The length of the temple was 230 Greek feet, the breadth 95, the height to the summit of the pediment 68. The roof was covered with slabs of Pentelic marble in the form of tiles. At each end of the pediment stood a gilded vase, and on the apex a gilded statue of Niké or Victory; below which was a golden shield with the head of Medusa in the middle, dedicated by the Lacedaemonians on account of their victory over the Athenians at Tanagra in B. c. 457. The two pediments were filled with figures. The eastern pediment had a statue of Zeus in the centre, with Õenomaus on his right and Pelops on his left, prepared to contend in the chariot-race; the figures on either side consisted of their attendants, and in the angles were the two rivers, Cladeus to the right of Zeus, and Alpheius to his left. In the western pediment was the contest of the Centaurs and the Lapithae, Peirithous occupying the central place. On the metopes over the doors at the eastern and western ends the labours of Hercules were represented. In its interior construction the temple resembled the Parthenon. The cella consisted of two chambers, of which the eastern contained the statue, and the western was called the Opisthodomus. The colossal statue of Zeus, the master-work of Pheidias, was made of ivory and gold. It stood at the end of the front chamber of the cella, directly facing the entrance, so that it at once showed itself in all its grandeur to a spectator entering the temple. The approach to it was between a double row of columns, supporting the roof. The god was seated on a magnificent throne adorned with sculptures, a full description of which, as well as of the statue, has been given in another place. [Dict. of Biogr. Vol. III. p. 252.] Behind the Opisthodomus of the temple was the Callistephanus or wild olive tree, which furnished the garlands of the Olympic victors. (Paus. v. 15. § 3.) GROUND PLAN OF THE OLYMPIEIUM. 2. The Pelopium stood opposite the temple of Zeus, on the other side of the Pompic way. Its position is defined by Pausanias, who says that it stood to the right of the entrance into the temple of Zeus and to the north of that building. It was an enclosure, containing trees and statues, having an opening to the west. (Paus. v. 13. § 1.) 3. The Heraeum was the most important temple in the Altis after that of Zeus It was also a Doric peripteral building. Its dimensions are unknown. Pausanias says (v. 16. § 1) that it was 63 feet in length; but this is clearly a mistake, since no peripteral building was so small; and the numerous statues in the cella, described by Pausanias, clearly show that it must have been of considerable dimensions. The two most remarkable monuments in the Heraeum were the table, on which were placed the garlands prepared for the victors in the Olympic contests, and the celebrated chest of Cypselus, covered with figures in relief, of which Pausanias has given an elaborate description (v. 17-19). We learn from a passage of Dion Chrysostom (Orat. xi. p. 163), cited by Leake, that this chest stood in the opisthodomus of the Heraeum; whence we may infer that the cella of the temple consisted of two apartments. 4. The Great Altar of Zeus is described by Pausanias as equidistant from the Pelopium and the Heraeum, and as being in front of them both. (Paus. v. 13. § 8.) Leake places the Heraeum near the Pompic entrance of the Stadium, and supposes that it faced eastward; accordingly he conjectures that the altar was opposite to the backfronts of the Pelopium and the Heraeum. The total height of the altar was 22 feet. It had two platforms, of which the upper was made of the cinders of the thighs sacrificed on this and other altars. 5. The Column of Oenomaus stood between the great altar and the temple of Zeus. It was said to have belonged to the house of Oenomaus, and to have been the only part of the building which escaped when it was burnt by lightning. (Paus. v. 20. § 6.) 6. The Metroum, or temple of the Mother of the Gods, was a large Doric building, situated within the Altis (Paus. v. 20. § 9.) It is placed by Leake to the left of the Pompic Way nearly opposite the Heraeum. 7. The Prytaneium is placed by Pausanias within the Altis, near the Gymnasium, which was outside the sacred enclosure (v. 15. § 8.) 8. The Bouleuterion, or Council-House, seems to have been near the Prytaneium. (Paus. v. 23. § 1, 24. § 1.) 9. The Philippeium, a circular building, erected by Philip after the battle of Chaeroneia, was to the left in proceeding from the entrance of the Altis to the Prytaneium. (Paus. v. 17. § 4, v. 20. § 10.) |